


How I Met Your Papa

by Rowan_Tree23



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - How I Met Your Mother Fusion, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Inspired by How I Met Your Mother, Love at First Sight, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23980048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowan_Tree23/pseuds/Rowan_Tree23
Summary: In 2037, Steve Rogers tells his children the story of how he met their father and the events that happened along the way, with his friends Tony, Clint, Bruce, Laura, Natasha, and Thor.//This is a Marvel & HIMYM AU Fusion, but there are many things that will be different.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	How I Met Your Papa

“Kids, when you meet the person you’re destined to be with for the rest of your lives, you just know.”

Steve looked at his children, sitting on the sofa in front of his chair in his old study. It had been a while since the twins had been in the house, having left for university last fall. He watched as they got comfortable, his mind whirling as he thought of how to best start his story. 

“You know the abridged version of how I met your papa, but what you don’t know is that I had to grow a long way before I was worthy of marrying him. To understand our story, we have to go back 25 years ago. I was 25, trying to make it as an artist in New York City. I was living with your Uncle Clint and your Uncle Bruce until your Uncle Clint made a decision that would change everything.”

____

_ Flashback: May 2012 _

Steve stared at Clint, who was kneeling on one knee holding an open box with a diamond ring. It was beautiful, the diamond sparkling in the sun-lit room.

“Oh my God.”

Steve grinned as Bruce reached down and took the ring box out of Clint’s hands. Bruce turned the box around as he examined the ring, making an impressed face.

“This must have been very expensive.” He pushed his glasses up his nose reflexively. “How much did you pay for it?”

Steve laughed and took the box out of Bruce’s hands, closing it and giving it back to Clint. “Two months’ paycheck, ain’t that the rule?”

Clint grimaced as he stood up and dusted his knees off. “Yeah… uh, SHIELD doesn’t pay that well. I just saved up for a while.” 

Clint worked at SHIELD, a government agency that nobody but its members (and sometimes not even them) fully understood what exactly was its purpose. They seemed to do everything, from weapons manufacturing to background checks for other military agencies. Even Steve and Bruce, who had occasionally done some consulting work for them, had no idea of all the pies SHIELD dipped its metaphorical finger in.

Steve clapped Clint good-naturedly on the shoulder. “Either way, I’m sure Laura will love it. And say yes.”

Laura and Clint had been together for over 5 years. They had met during Clint’s first day at SHIELD, with the blond quickly becoming smitten with the sweet but sassy secretary. After a few weeks of Clint persistently asking her out, Laura had caved and the rest, as they say, was history. She had quickly been introduced to their little group and they regularly hung out at The Compound, the bar on the first floor of their apartment complex. 

Before Clint could reply, the door swung open and a tall, muscular man that dwarfed even Steve came bounding into the room. 

“Hello, my friends!” Shouted Thor, who quickly went to Bruce and enveloped him in a hug. Bruce, used to Thor’s antics, heaved a wheezy sigh and hung limply until Thor let him go and moved to the rest of the group, who promptly followed Bruce’s example. 

“Heya Thor,” Clint said after he’d been released from Thor’s grasp. “What are you up to this time?”

Thor grinned. “I’m going down to The Compound and play a little game I like to call… Have you met Steve?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “What?”

Thor grabbed his shoulder and said, “Steve, it’s time for you to go out there and find someone. Just look at Clint, settling down with one of the most beautiful women that we know!” 

Clint laughed and sat down on the sofa. “Yeah, plus you and Bruce need to …” He made shoo-ing noises and gestured with his hands. “I want to propose here, and you guys can’t be here for the… celebration if she says yes.”

“When she says yes,” Steve correctly quietly, emphasizing the first word. “But fine, we’ll get out of your hair.”

Bruce sighed and went into his room, coming out five minutes later with a backpack. “Got it, I’m going to go to the lab and finish some work.”

Bruce was a scientist—or at least, trying to make it big as one. He was currently researching gamma radiation, which had not been going as planned (according to him). Fortunately, his research project had been selected by the Stark Technological Advancement Research Foundation (commonly known as STAR Fund) and he had received a research grant of a million dollars and access to Stark Labs. It had been the opportunity of a lifetime, and Bruce was adamant in spending most of his waking hours devoting himself to his project.

“Join us at The Compound in an hour, Banner!” Thor hollered, even though he knew it was fruitless to try and persuade Bruce to abandon his project once he got into it. 

Once the door was closed, he turned to look at Steve. “Wear something presentable, you look like a stable boy.” With those words, he unceremoniously pushed Steve towards his bedroom and joined Clint on the sofa.

Steve rolled his eyes but went to change, opting for jeans and a simple white t-shirt with a navy jacket on top. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing back some of the hair that had started to fall across his eyes, and sprayed on some cologne. Despite his earlier protests, he wouldn’t object to finding somebody tonight. 

The truth is, Steve had been feeling lately like his life had no direction. People around him were settling down with their partners (Clint), moving along in their career (Bruce), or simply happy with their life (Thor). It seemed like he was the only one who was left in the same place where he started six years ago when he moved to New York to attend art school at NYU. Despite his best efforts, he didn’t have the gallery he had always dreamed about and most of his paintings laid covered in his room. Worst of all, he was still painfully single. So yes, it was safe to say that he was looking for a sign from the universe that he wasn’t stuck in life.

Deeming himself presentable, he left his room and headed downstairs with Thor. They were sitting in their usual booth in no time, each holding a beer as they looked around. Despite being a Tuesday, the place was decently packed—The Compound was a popular hangout and the night was still young.

Some girl eventually caught Thor’s eye, because he slipped out of the booth (quite smoothly, considering his massive frame) and headed over to the bar, where a blonde girl was talking to the bartender (ordering, most likely). Steve grimaced as he was left alone, debating whether or not to stay there like a loser or try and talk to someone. 

“Hey there, handsome.” A guy slipped into the seat Thor had previously vacated. Steve raked his eyes appreciatively over the guy (or at least, what he could see that wasn’t hidden by the table). The guy had a well-kept goatee and he was dressed in a sleek black suit, which looked like it cost more than what Steve made in a year (which, admittedly, wasn’t much).

“Hi.” He said, then immediately winced. That had been way more high-pitched and awkward than he had wanted it to sound, and he was internally beating himself. Way to make an impression, Steve.

“What’s a gorgeous guy like you doing brooding in a booth?” The man thankfully ignored his little… squeak? yelp? 

Steve found himself blushing and smiling slightly. “Well, my roommate is proposing to his girlfriend right now so…”

The guy made an  _ aaaah _ sound. “Ah yes, killing time I see. My name is Tony, by the way.”

“Steve.” He said in return and extended his hand in a handshake. Tony took it and shook his hand firmly.

____

“Kids, there are moments that seem to last forever. For me, it was then. Sitting in my favorite bar, holding the hand of the most handsome man I had ever seen. As cliché as it sounds, my heart was pounding and I was breathless. It seemed like I was there, holding his hand for what seemed to be hours, if not days. But in reality, it was less than a minute.”

____

_ Flashback: May 2012 _

“Firm grip you’ve got there,” Tony said and let go of his hand, Steve following suit (albeit a lot more reluctantly). “So, what do you do, Steve?”

Steve was caught up in the way his name sounded in Tony’s voice, which is why he fumbled with his next words. “I uh paint?” 

Tony quirked an eyebrow at the unsure tone. “You think so?” 

Blushing, Steve corrected himself. “Yeah, I’m an artist.” 

“Oh?” Tony leaned forward, placing both elbows on the table and resting his chin on knuckles. “Anything I’ve seen?”

This time, Steve flushed for an entirely different reason. “Ah… no.” He looked down self-consciously, but then steeled himself and met Tony’s eyes determinedly. “But I’m going to make it one day. Till then, I’m working at the Youth Center, as a gym trainer. It’s not much, but it’s nice working with the kids there.”

As he launched into an unprompted explanation of what he did at the Youth Center, his eyes caught the sparkle in Tony’s warm brown eyes and he could feel his anxiety fading and butterflies taking its place. It seemed like Tony could look past his eyes and deep into his soul, looking for answers to questions he hadn’t asked yet. His hand itched to draw those beautiful eyes on paper, his fingers subconsciously tracing on the table the lines he could see in Tony’s face.

“The kids are also very enthusiastic…” He trailed off, as he steeled himself for the question that bubbled underneath the surface. “Will you go out with me?”

Tony blinked, clearly taken off guard with the sudden change in topic. “As in a date?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded determinedly until his previous anxiety caught up to him. “Unless uh you don’t want to? I mean, it’s not umm.”

He was luckily saved from making a bigger fool of himself by Tony’s warm hand, placed on top of his. 

“I’d love to go out on a date with you, Steve,” Tony said sincerely, a small smile on his lips. “When? I have a conference out of town this Friday, but I’ll be back in a week.”

Steve looked at his watch. 8 o’clock. “How about right now?”

That startled a laugh out of Tony, whose eyes crinkled beautifully. “Yeah, I’d love to. I know this great Italian bistro, it’s around 10 minutes from here.”

“That’s perfect,” Steve said, getting up and leaving his empty beer bottle in the counter. “How about we walk and get to know each other?”

Tony boldly stepped up next to Steve and looped his right arm with Steve’s left. “Sounds perfect.” 

____

“Your Uncle Clint was my best friend since we met in college. I told him everything, so after my first date with what I assumed to be the most gorgeous guy on the planet, I went to tell him everything.”

____

_ Flashback: May 2012 _

Steve burst through the door, startling Clint and Laura who yelped and scrambled to cover themselves. Steve covered his eyes and fumbled blindly for the blanket they kept on their small dining table. When his hand made contact with the soft fabric, he threw it in the general direction of the couch. There was rustling and a thud as they scrambled to make themselves presentable. 

“Can we talk now or are you guys still…” Steve trailed off, ears burning red. 

“Yeah yeah,” Clint grumbled.

Steve peaked through his fingers cautiously then lowered his hand once he saw they were presentable, albeit rumpled with messy hair. 

“Okay, sorry for interrupting but I met someone,” Steve said excitedly. He looked like a kid about to bounce on the balls of their feet on Christmas. 

“Oh really?” Clint and Laura said in unison (many found that unnerving but Steve found it cute deep down).

“Yeah! Remember what I said was my ideal type?” Steve prompted. 

“Brunette?” Clint asked. 

“Well, yes. He’s brunette, with a very sexy goatee, beautiful and warm brown eyes that you just get lost in, and he’s shorter than me. I hugged him and he just fit under my chin, tucked in like we’re meant to be.” Steve gushed.

“Ah, Steve found a new muse,” Laura commented teasingly. 

“You can tease me all you want, but yes. He is just too beautiful. But I meant my ideal type in personality.” Steve ran a hand through his hair. 

“Oh uh… passionate about work?” Clint said.

“Definitely.”

_ Steve stared at Tony as he rambled on about his job. “— and I know I have a long way to go until those units are mass-produced, but I submitted my final design to R&D and they’re looking to make a prototype! Normally I would do that stuff myself, but this time Pepper —“ _

“Loves art?”

“In a way.”

_ Tony giggled as he watched Steve draw a small Chibi character on his napkin. “That’s me?” _

_ Steve blushed. “Not my best work.” _

_ Tony put his hand over Steve’s, making him pause. “Hey, I’ve seen a lot of art in my life. I own quite a bit of beautiful paintings. But I’ve found that there’s beauty in everything, not just what people consider art.” _

“Works out?”

“Well, his body seems fit under his suit and he has the world’s best ass…”

“Dog person?”

_ “I love dogs! I don’t raise any myself because I travel a lot, so it would be unfair to any dog I raise. But I sponsor several clinics and donate to pounds that don’t practice euthanasia.” _

“Wow, dog person AND donates? You must be on cloud nine.” Laura whistled. 

“Right?! This guy is just perfect. I didn’t even know people like him could exist.”

“Congratulations Steve.” Bruce pipped up from the doorway. “It seems like he’s a nice guy.”

“Hey, Bruce.” Laura waved awkwardly but unwittingly drew attention to her hand, where a certain diamond caught the light from a nearby light and sparkled.

“You said yes!” Steve exclaimed enthusiastically, going over to hug the newly engaged couple. Bruce walked into the apartment and closed the door quietly, joining in on the congratulatory hug.

____

“And so, your Uncle Clint and your Aunt Laura were engaged. We all went down to The Compound to celebrate, and even your Uncle Thor left his lady friend and came to join us.”

____

_ Flashback: May 2012 _

“To the future Mrs. Barton!” They cheered, ten minutes later, holding each a glass of champagne.

Laura giggled as she sipped from her glass, looking down admiringly at her hand. “It is a beautiful ring, baby. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Even though she meant to whisper it, everyone at the table heard it. They all looked away as Clint leaned to kiss her deeply, engaging in conversation to give them some privacy. 

“Did you hear, Thor?” Bruce said. “Steve met a guy.”

“Ah yes, I saw!” Thor spoke loudly as he gulped down his champagne in one go. “A most handsome fellow, I must say.” 

Steve blushed as he thought of Tony. 

“But wait, if you guys went on that date, why are you here? It’s barely 10:30.” Laura turned away from Clint and glanced at Steve.

“Oh, about that…” Steve trailed off, embarrassed.

_ Steve and Tony were walking back towards The Compound, as Tony had left his car parked there.  _

_ “I had a lovely time,” Tony said as they reached his car. “You’re a funny guy.”  _

_ “Me too.” Steve smiled uncertainly. Despite the lovely evening they’d had, now that it was drawing to an end, he wasn’t sure how to proceed. _

_ “So…” Tony said, drawing out the word. _

_ “Have a good night, Tony!” Steve yelped and then, without thinking, leaned over and brushed a kiss against Tony’s lips. He took in Tony’s surprised face, his eyes wide and his lips parted slightly. His stomach dropped and then he did the most stupid thing imaginable.  _

_ He turned tail and ran. _

His friends groaned. “Oh God, Steve, that was so lame.”

Steve dropped his head on the table. “I know.”

____

“Yeah, that was lame Dad.” Pietro snorted.

Steve grimaced.

____

_ Flashback: May 2012 _

“That wasn’t the end.” Steve smiled, a slight dimple showing in his left cheek.

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked curiously. 

“Well…”

_ Steve was panicking. He had overstepped, first by kissing Tony without knowing if he had wanted it (although by the date it seemed like he did). Then, he ran away like a chicken. He must look like a pathetic loser in Tony’s eyes. _

_ “Hey Steve, wait up!” _

_ He slowed down as he heard Tony’s voice and footsteps hurrying after him. He closed his eyes briefly to steel his nerves but then turned around resolutely.  _

_ “Why did you away, you dumb, gorgeous man?” Tony whispered as he brought his hand to the back of Steve’s neck and gently pulled him down to kiss him, while he stood on his tiptoes. _

_ Steve felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him. His lips moved gently against Tony’s, and he wrapped his arms around Tony’s slender waist and pulled him flush against his body. _

_ “Wow.” Tony breathed out as they pulled apart reluctantly.  _

_ Steve smiled crookedly, agreeing non-verbally. _

_ “I have to get to work, emergency at the workshop. But call me?” Tony slipped a hand in Steve’s pocket and took out Steve’s phone. Steve’s phone was an old Motorola from three years ago, his meager income spent on his rent and paying back his hospital bills. Tony pressed his number carefully and saved himself as a contact, before handing the phone back to Steve. _

_ “I will Tony. Good night.” Steve called back as Tony got into the car and blew him a flirtatious kiss. He smiled involuntarily, which made Tony light up in a beautiful smile that took Steve’s breath away.  _

_ He watched as the car pulled away and took a right turn, disappearing into the night. He smiled as he turned to walk up towards his apartment, hopeful for the first time in what seemed like years. _

His friends cheered and Thor reached over to clap him in the back. Steve smiled and took a sip of his beer, his phone heavy in his pocket.

____

“And that, kids, is the story of how I first met your Uncle Tony.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it ~


End file.
